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Hill Dickinson advises Johnson Service Group on €31.5m Irish acquisition

Hill Dickinson advises Johnson Service Group on €31.5m Irish acquisition

Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has advised workwear and hospitality industry textile business Johnson Service Group on the acquisition of a leading Irish linen supplier, Celtic Linen, in a deal worth €31.5 million.

Runcorn headquartered Johnson Service Group aims to use the acquisition of Celtic Linen to expand its range and scale of services, including further diversification of its customer base into the healthcare sector.

Irish group Harkglade, based in County Wexford, together with subsidiaries Celtic Linen and Millbrook Linen (collectively trading as Celtic Linen), services the Republic of Ireland’s healthcare and hotel, restaurant and catering (HORECA) sectors. 

Celtic Linen, which employs around 350 people, is the largest linen supplier to – and derives more than 50% of its annual revenue from - the Republic of Ireland’s healthcare sector. It is also the second largest linen supplier to the HORECA sector.

Sue Russell and Richard McKay of Hill Dickinson’s Corporate Law team led on the provision of legal advice to Johnson Service Group.

Sue Russell said: “Johnson Service Group is a longstanding client of Hill Dickinson, which means we have developed a good understanding of the business over the course of many years. We were pleased to work with the management team again to help achieve successful completion of this latest deal.”

The acquisition, which has been funded from the group’s existing bank facilities, which Hill Dickinson’s Banking team advised in June 2020, includes a commitment to fund €1.9 million of capital expenditure that Celtic Linen had committed to prior to completion of the deal.

Celtic Linen’s existing management team will remain with the business.
 

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